rich brownish color with hints of ruby around the edges. A slight bit of light coming through revealed some haze and a touch of sediment. A towering head of almost three inches glazed over the top of the glass and hung around for what seemed like forever before it finally settled down into a nice one finger layer of impenetrable foam. Rich side glass presentation as well just capped off the entire thing just wonderfully. One of the best looking, if not the best looking Barley wine I have ever seen.

The aroma was a heavy hitter right from the start. Tons of bourbon just wreaking havoc, had to let it calm down, revealing some nice hints of woody and earthy tones. Hints of vanilla and of all things chocolate starting to come through now. Very complex and nice, this was shaping up to be a winner already. The flavor was just drop down beautiful. Loads of rich bourbon and wood flavors coming through in the most wonderful of arrangements. Caramel and molasses seamless blended with touches of chocolate and dark fruits. Really just a whole another level of barley wine. (1,077 characters)

Bottle courtesy of yourefragile at last night's barrel-aged barleywine tasting. Served in a SAVOR snifter.

Pours a nice dark copper color with a thin light tan head that falls into a thin cap, eventually dispersing into a nice collar.

Nose carries quite a bit of caramel to pair with the strong bourbon character. A bit of oak and toffee there as well, adding a bit of complexity. Flavor is a bit muted, though the bourbon comes through fairly well. Light booze underneath good bourbon. A touch of oak and toffee plus a good dosing of caramel.

Medium body with low carbonation. Smooth, bourbon-filled finish.

Glad to try this, though not one of the best of the night. Worth trying, but probably not something to really seek out. (734 characters)

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear caramel color with a modest head that fritters away to a ringlet while leaving spotty lace

Smell: Caramel, bourbon and vanilla

Taste: Caramel, up front, with a developing bourbon/vanilla character; despite the age, the hops still appear just before the swallow and linger afterwards; plenty of oxidation due to the age, but this still has a nice blend of flavors

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with subtle carbonation

Overall: Fours years in, this beer has some nice elements, but clearly needs to be consumed now as it is past its prime (575 characters)

I split the bottle with a few friends into snifters. I was greeted with a nice two finger off white head sitting on top of an amber body brew. There was a slight oxidized aroma coming thru in the nose I chalk it up to age even though the bottle was waxed. (so drink them if you got them) you still are getting a nice bourbon vanilla note from the barrel and of coarse you great sweet caramel from the malts. The flavor is the same as the nose only in reverse. You first get the sweetness followed up with a good vanilla bourbon note. The mouth feel is thick and syrupy so it translates into a great sipping drink. Overall I enjoyed this brew and would love to revisit it again. (714 characters)

Bardstown Brand Ale pours a slightly hazy copper color. Backlighting gives it a deep red hue. A very light tan coat of bubbles covers the surface, but rises no further. They disappear quickly, and leave very light, sticky strands of lace behind.

The nose is pretty good, but isn't very diverse. It smells very sweet and full of caramel malt throughout. A moderate amount of bourbon is noted. It smells nice, and complements the sweet caramel notes well. Secondary notes of vanilla and oak are noted. I'm not really getting any fruit - dark, golden, or otherwise. Perhaps it's all buried. Alcohol is noticeable, but isn't overwhelming.

The flavor is good. It's definitely a step up from the nose. There's no questioning the base here - tons of caramel malt. It's very sweet, and even a little brown sugary. I don't know how long this spent in barrels, but it was just the right amount of time. The barrel-aging left a moderate bourbon flavor that's very nice. Oak and vanilla are secondary, but are definitely noted. They add nice depth and character to the mix. There are some fruity notes present. I am getting a little apple, but there's some tangy dark fruit there as well. Maybe a little raisin. Alcohol is definitely there in taste. It's not quite hot, but it's warm. Finishes sweet and tangy with a touch of bourbon.

The body is medium. Carbonation is relatively light, and gives it a smooth feel. For a 10% beer, it goes down relatively smooth, but it still feels big. No doubt about that.

Overall, Bardstown Brand Ale is good beer. It's not perfect. Some of the sweetness could be dialed back some. Maybe a little less alcohol. It's good stuff though. It's definitely held up well, and perhaps developed some over the past few years. I never tried it fresh, so I don't know for sure. Good stuff. Thanks a ton, Dan. (1,874 characters)

Thanks to brentk56 for this bottle from Secret Santa 2010, 2007 vintage. Poured into a New Belgium goblet. The beer pours a hazy copper-amber color with a ruby center. There is a thin white head that quickly fades to a tight ring around the top of the beer.

The beer smells like toffee, barrel and bourbon, very upfront, concise and clean. There is a nice hoppy background (unexpected surprise from a beer that's more than 3 years old) along with some vanilla and leather.

The flavors follow the smell closely, this is a very mellow barrel aged barleywine, nice and balanced. Sweet butterscotch, toffee and vanilla introduce the flavors followed by the strong barrel presence. The barrel brings along hints of bourbon and wood, with a little residual grassy/earthy hops in the finish.

The beer is nice and smooth, well balanced and the alcohol is still present but has definitely taken a backseat. I would like to have tried this beer fresh for comparison, but it seems to be aging very well. I drank half the bomber, and I would have happily had another glass. Glad I got the opportunity to try this one. (1,108 characters)

Got this bottle from an employee at Olde Hickory Brewing.Pours a deep amber ruby body with a nice modest off white head.Smells of a massive combination of strong barley wine and oak. THere's flavors of raisons, plums and caramel on the nose with lots of vanilla and toasted notes from the oak. The taste is very intense. Bourbon and dark fruit play out initially. There's lots of caramel and toasted notes. Hints of chocolate and toffee ring out.Not very drinkable due to the high ABV but very smooth considering what it is. (528 characters)

Thanks to sholland119 & vickster529 for this bottle, which came, nestled amongst other fine & fabulous bottles, as the result of a BIF. Halved with my wife, who was coincidentally the other half of the BIF team.

This is both a subtle barleywine, & a sly use of barrel aging. Whoa. Scratch that second half. Upfront are sweet malts that check in toffee, which is ambushed, upstaged, & ultimately obliterated by the barrel. The bourbon actually hangs back for several seconds before presenting itself like a slow-burning jalapeno, & dominates the scene. It does back off a bit at the end, allowing a healthy dose of oak to shine through, & a bit of not-so-welcome oxidation. But that's quibbling.

Drinkability is good & poor. I feel intoxicated after a few sips, but it's a good one, like if I bounce off something I'll enjoy the bruise tomorrow. I didn't mention the heat in the taste, but it's there, in the barrel & the base both.

Unique use of the barrel, resulting in a beer that breaks out of the pack of standards. Very, very good bordering on excellent. Nice work. (1,219 characters)

On tap. Orange/amber pour with a creamish head. Quite a bit of vanilla and oak araomas, some sweet malt, raisin molasses. Mouthfeel is quite sticky, but not real thick. A sipper for sure. Loads of malt, caramel and vanilla barrel in the flavors. If you want a west coast barleywine, you will not like this. Luckliy I did not, so I found this to be excellent. An under-rated Enlgish barleywine. Slight char finish. This is the first item bottled by OHB, so I bought a couple as well. (482 characters)

Sunset amber, lightly hazy and topped by a thin white head. The head quickly settles to a collar.

Nutty, caramelized nose. Plenty of oxidation in the form of sherry and cocoa powder. No heat left, this is mellow but still very aromatic. A little leathery, musty. Pleasant oak barrel character, though there's little in the way of bourbon.

Smell: Ah, sweet-smelling bourbon at the fore. Toasty caramel, some hints of fruits, and then it's back to bourbon! Gee, they ain't screwing around.

Taste: As you'd expect from the nose, it's all at once bourbon in the flavor. Warming, yes, but not grotesquely hot. Toasted caramel maltiness and, again, there's that fruit. Medium sweetness. Tastes of toasted oak and vanilla. A tannic pinch leads you to the increasingly warming finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: A solid bourbony barleywine. Word on the street is that this was their very first bottle release. If so, congrats, as this certainly wasn't a bad way to start things off. (760 characters)

S: Wow, some nice sweet creamy bourbon notes upfront. Some toffee and caramel in the middle with some port on the backend. Smells a little bit like a barleywine version of Bourbon County. I love bourbon county. Very good.

T: Very heavy bourbon booze upfront with some port in the middle. Some creamy toffee and actually some rye on the backend. Decent.

M: Medium body with a good carbonation. Very good.

D: You definitely have to get past the booze wall to get this one down. Decent.

All in all, whereas this is a good brew, it has been the first from this brewery that has been closer to mediocre than great. Definitely a great try, but if you want something good from this brewery, go for the Imperial Stout or Irish Walker first. (934 characters)

Pours a fairly weak head; bubbles are on the big side and scatter to a crown quickly. Color has the burnt candy-apple red color of many barleywines.

Immediately there is very strong bourbon presence in the aroma. With that comes some wood, but with all that alcoholic whisky-ness, it seems the natural barleywine characteristics have been snuffed out. Maple syrup and vanilla are barely detected through the fog. Still, it's a bourbon barrel-aged big beer, so it can be expected.

Flavor is more of the same, but unfortunately a bit more one-dimensional. Just about any real barleywine characteristic is suffocated under bourbon and wood, wood and bourbon. Some vanilla sneaks in, as does a decent flash of caramel. A bit astringent/green/grassy in the finish. But it's pretty much unbalanced in favor of the bourbon and the barrel.

Good feel here. A mild stickiness, but mostly round and smooth and without the kind of thickness one might expect of a beer like this. Decent carbonation, neither too intrusive nor too laid back.

Okay, it's a bourbon barrel-aged beer, it's going to have some of those characteristics. I get that. But this one hides the barleywine too much, to the point where I'd much rather have tasted the barleywine itself. Bourbon barrel-aging isn't necessarily a ticket to greatness, and this beer proves that. Hard to get down...couldn't even finish. (1,442 characters)

Bottle says 2007 vintage. Pours an amber brown with small tan head. Bourbon is quite upfront in the smell, with faint hints of hops. Some of the bitterness is still there, but lots of bourbon. Has a little bit of a boozy taste which hurts the drinkability, but it is still smooth. (280 characters)

2007 vintage. Thanks again to Ratman for another awesome vintage beer experience. Poured from the bomber a nice burnished orange color with a decent white head. Great bourbon, oak, vanilla and brown sugar aromas. Great bourbon flavor on the palate, nicely integrated with the sweet malt, caramel and alcohol. This beer has aged wonderfully, and the bourbon character is still (obviously) very prevalent. I love most of these barrel aged barley wines, and think this style works better than most in the wood. (507 characters)

A big thanks to Stephen aka stoutfiend27 for throwing this 2007 bottle in as an extra in one of our trades. Poured this into my tulip, split with my girlfriend.

Dark amber liquid falls into the middle of glass, slowly collecting into a garnet body full of beautiful ruby hues in the light. The head that gathers is coarse and light, dissipating to a thin rim of bubbles around the edge of the glass. No lacing forms, though there are decent legs upon a swirl.

Even as I pour it, I can smell the bourbon flowing freely from the mouth of the glass. Syrupy booziness is also evident in front of woody vanilla aromass. The front of the aroma also brings forth some spices, an interesting character for an American barleywine. The taste is similar, with a bit of syrupy barley malt combining with spice, vanilla, and a finish of oakiness. The aftertaste is nutty, almost like and English barleywine. Despite the bourbon-filled aroma, the taste is nicely balanced.

Somewhat thin, but a good syrupy feeling on top of a nicely balanced body. The carbonation is a touch high, but overall, this is pretty decent as far as drinkability goes. I have no big complaints here. I would seek it out again, especially since the bourbon did such a good job enhancing the flavor and not taking it over. (1,285 characters)

A- Pours a deep amber muted brown color. There is a small one figer dirty white lace that quickly disipates. There is no carbonation activty present or cling after the pour. Overall a decent looking beer.

S- I am getting strong alcohol notes, I am also getting a sweet malty smell as well. I am not really getting any bourbon notes which I expected because of the aging in bourbon barrels. Honestly not very impressed with the smell of this beer.

T- As with the smell I am not getting any sense of a bourbon influence I am tasting a run of the mill barleywine with a sweet malty presence that finishes with a bit of an alcohol bite.

Saw a bottle of this at Bestway and figured I would give it a shot. Honestly I am not too impressed with this after having a few bourbon barrel aged beers by other breweries and acquiring a taste for these types of beers. In my opinion this tastes liek a regular barleywine I am not tasting any bourbon influences at all. Even though this beer has not caught my fancy I still would like to try other offerings from Olde Hickory. (1,125 characters)

Super excited to try such an under the radar kind of brew. Definitely suprised to find this after this 2007 release. I think that if this was a one day hyped up release that this would be a highly sought after beer. Anyway on to the review. Poured into a wine glass from a wax covered 22oz bottle. Pours a nice amber color with a nice white head that quickly settles into a small ring around a glass. Smells freakin awesome. Sweet caramel malts hit the nose along with woody oaky notes, with a nice vanilla smells as well. The first sip reveals a much stronger bourbon flavor than the nose would imply. I couldn't imagine this beer fresh this bottle is from 07 and the bourbon is very intense. Big oaky, vanilla flavors with a ton of bourbon as well. There's a nice sweet maltiness to balance some of the bourbon. But if you're not a fan you probably will not enjoy this beer. There's a lovely alcohol burn that warms the throat as you swallow. Perfectly carbonated and its not too thick or cloying. This one is definitely a sipper though as the alcohol is pretty intense. Can't wait to see what a few more years does to this one. This is the first barrel aged barley wine I've had and I can't wait to try more if all are as good as this one. (1,242 characters)

Courtesy of RB's own kp. Pours clear striking amber with thin white head. The aroma is oak, bourbon, vanilla and booze. It starts with a short pulse of sweet malts and ends with nose searing heat. The taste is full and smooth. I get oak mixing with vanilla and then moving toward bourbon notes. There doesn't appear to be much more going on here than that. Certainly this is an example of barrel aging that nearly covers up all the notes from the beer that went in the barrel. Still enjoyable though. I love how smooth it is. (525 characters)